Speakers

Oral Isotreinoin is the most effective drug available, for more than 30 years, in the treatment of moderate-to-severe cases of acne. The recent data of the literature and the routine experience, collected over the last 3 decades have clearly demonstrated that isotretinoin, if correctly prescribed, is safe, effective and easy to manage. Spironolactone is a molecule with an antiandrogen potential. It is widely used, all over the world, in the treatment of female acne cases when the involvement of hormonal factors, like in PCOS, is relevant and OC can’t be assumed. Clinical effects and tolerability make spironolactone very useful in acne.

We are beginning to move away from clinicopathologic diagnosis into an era of clinicoimaging diagnosis”. That is what June K. Robinson, the editor of Archives of Dermatology, wrote in February 2005. This vision is based on the fact that dermoscopy, among the other imaging techniques that have been developed in the last years, is changing the practice of diagnosing cutaneous disorders, in general, and skin cancer, in particular. The fact that about 6000 papers have been published in the field of dermoscopy in about 25 years is one of the strongest pieces of evidence proving that this vision is true and dermoscopy is rapidly becoming a standard of care in many countries all over the world.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) comprise the most frequently diagnosed malignant tumors in humans. Although the majority of these tumors are managed effectively with curative surgery and/or radiation, in a subset of cases with advanced disease (locally advanced or with nodal/distant metastases), systemic therapy is often required. Novel treatments such as hedgehog inhibitors and anti-PD1 immunotherapy are now standard of care treatment for advanced keratinocyte carcinoma, yielding an improved efficacy and an acceptable safety profile. The current presentation aims to critically address the current therapeutic landscape of BCCs/cSCCs and discuss the yet controversial areas in management, such as patient selection, staging approaches, primary and secondary resistance and optimal use of the currently available therapeutic options in daily clinical practice.

Management of psoriasis has changed dramatically in the past 15 years.The current controversies in development in psoriasis treatment concern three areas. Firstly the respective role of physicians and patients in the decision-making process. A better integration of patient preferences in disease management is desirable. There is still a disconnect between patients and physicians concerning disease severity assessment and therapeutic objectives. Integrating a holistic patient centered view on disease management is warranted. Physician training to improve emotional intelligence competencies may be useful to better connect with patients. Secondly, the classical therapeutic strategy for moderate to severe psoriasis starting with phototherapy and classical systemic treatment is currently under scrutiny. Recent evidence suggests that early intervention with the newer biological agents in patients with new onset psoriasis may be most effective to achieve disease control. Whereas such strategy can also prevent the development of psoriatic arthritis in high-risk patients remains the be determined. It is also advisable to discuss if such strategies are sustainable from an economical standpoint. Thirdly the current therapeutic agents in late development should address the residual medical need in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. The robust therapeutic armamentarium in psoriasis make the dream of sustained complete clearance of psoriasis true for the majority of patients. Something we could not imagine as possible at the end of the last century.

Cutaneous melanoma, cutaneous non-melanoma skin cancers including Merkel Cell Carcinoma today are paradigms for modern cancer therapy. Chemotherapy traditionally has modest impact on the survival in these cancer types. After decades of standstill, there is now a dramatic improvement of the outcome by the introduction of new medications. Today 5 antibodies targeting the PD1-PDL1 interaction are approved for skin cancers and 6 small molecules interfering with the MAPK-Kinase pathway in BRAF mutant melanomas. There are also early signs for the efficacy of MDM2 inhibitors. Additional innovations are based on new scheduling of these drugs in the neoadjuvant / adjuvant settings

In this lecture we will focus on recent developments in dermatopathology, with an emphasis on publications within the last 2 years. We will talk about advances in immunohistochemistry and the implications of new molecular techniques especially in the field of difficult melanocytic neoplasms. We will present novelties in the classification of cutaneous lymphomas and new histopathological clues for the diagnosis of inflammatory skin conditions.

Fractional laser ablation can increase the cutaneous bioavailability of poorly-delivered low molecular weight drugs. It also enables the targeted cutaneous administration of therapeutic macromolecules. In this talk, I will describe how experimental parameters that affect drug delivery kinetics can be used to increase bioavailability and thereby improve treatment efficacy.

This lecture will highlight the most important advances in dermatologic surgery during the last two years. Topics that will be covered will address indications and practical aspects of Mohs micrographic surgery, practical tips for surgical reconstructions and important points to consider during the perioperative period such as patient anxiety, preoperative antibiotics and anticoagulation.

Bettina Mutter is a proven strategy consultant and public affairs specialist with many years of experience and an extensive network of contacts in business, politics and culture.